Few British filmmakers are as fearless, uncompromising or emotionally perceptive as Simon Rumley. With his extraordinary film Crushed, he reminds us why his particular brand of disquieting horror remains so important.
There are filmmakers who like to frighten us, others who wish to disturb us, and perhaps a few who even delight in testing the limits of our visceral endurance. Simon Rumley, however, belongs in a category of his own.
His films can be profoundly disturbing, often shocking, and capable of producing such extraordinary tension that they become almost unbearable to watch. But what makes them truly remarkable is not simply their fearless exploration of the darkest corners of human experience, nor the almost perverse relish with which they uncover the more dreadful recesses of the human psyche. It is the extraordinary juxtaposition of this darkness with the surprising emotional sensitivity Rumley affords the people who inhabit his worlds.
I have admired Rumley’s work for many years. There is something quite singular about his cinematic imagination, a willingness to explore humanity at its most vulnerable, desperate and occasionally monstrous. Such feelings are not entirely unfamiliar to me, particularly when a Saturday evening Just Eat order is delayed indefinitely, only for a telephone call to reveal that the restaurant has cancelled it altogether. But I digress.
His films are often cruel, and some critics might even accuse them of being sadistic. Indeed, I can understand why. Yet I would argue that the great paradox of Simon Rumley’s work is that his most horrific creations are often among his most emotionally perceptive, and, should we look closely enough, we might even recognise something of ourselves within them.
That quality was already apparent in The Living and the Dead, and would become increasingly pronounced in Red White & Blue, his unforgettably dark contribution to the anthology Little Deaths, entitled Bitch, and the extraordinary Fashionista.
The latter, in particular, demonstrates Rumley’s ability to explore obsession, identity, vulnerability and emotional disintegration through a disorientating cinematic language that transforms the psychological experiences of his characters into something resembling a wild maelstrom of emotional expressionism.
In lesser, considerably tinier hands, such material might have amounted to little more than provocation. But Rumley possesses that rare ability to make us feel the suffering behind the spectacle, even when the behaviour of his characters becomes almost impossible to comprehend.
Of course, even the most gifted filmmakers must contend with the sometimes dispiriting realities of our industry. Rumley’s career has included considerable critical triumphs alongside commercial frustrations, perhaps most conspicuously the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the distribution of Crowhurst. His subsequent gangster picture, Once Upon a Time in London, was an enjoyable and accomplished excursion into British criminal history, although perhaps one less inclined to indulge his most daring artistic instincts.
Which brings us, rather triumphantly, to Crushed.
Having recently watched the film, I consider it a remarkable achievement and a magnificent return to the uncompromising arthouse horror with which I have always most closely associated Rumley’s work.
Following its premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the film has received considerable critical admiration, including a thoroughly deserved four-star review from Phil Hoad in The Guardian.
Meanwhile, an intriguing new chapter begins. Rumley is attached to a fresh adaptation of Jack London’s The Call of the Wild, produced by David Barron, which proposes to explore generative artificial intelligence alongside other visual effects techniques. The announcement has inevitably touched upon an increasingly contentious debate within filmmaking, although I suspect the more interesting question concerns how such technology might serve the imagination of an artist whose greatest achievements have always depended upon emotional authenticity.
With Crushed now finding its audience, and an ambitious new production on the horizon, I thought it an excellent opportunity to put five questions to one of Britain’s most fascinating and uncompromising filmmakers.
Five Questions with Simon Rumley
1. The courage to explore the darkness
Amicus Horror: Simon, something I have always admired about your films is your willingness to explore genuinely horrifying and uncomfortable aspects of human behaviour, while somehow retaining an extraordinary sympathy for the characters involved. Even at their most monstrous or desperate, they frequently possess an emotional complexity that makes them profoundly affecting. What draws you towards these darker corners of human experience, and how do you approach the challenge of making such difficult characters emotionally truthful?
Simon Rumley: Thanks! As I’m sure you’re well aware, film can be, and often is, a reductive medium.
I used to compare my films to those short articles you find in newspapers which would write a paragraph about how this neighbour killed that neighbour, or this husband killed that wife. Often the articles were little more than a few paragraphs long, but in reality these stories were most likely incredibly complex in origin and motivation, and quite possibly ran through years of unease and disquiet before violence occurred.
Most films portray characters as black or white, good or bad, but I guess I usually try to portray them as grey. So it’s very much like setting my own challenge to find how a particular character might have some redeeming qualities.
For example, Stanley in Crushed, the perpetrator of Olivia’s kidnap, is ostensibly saving money to go home to see his children and uses this as a means to justify the ends. Of course, it’s still an awful thing he’s done, but it certainly provides his character with more depth.
There’s a moral complexity to life which I try to explore whenever I can and add to my characters.
2. The trials and triumphs of an independent filmmaker
Amicus Horror: You have enjoyed extraordinary critical recognition throughout your career, but, like so many independent filmmakers, you have also encountered the commercial realities and occasional frustrations of the industry. I recall the difficulties surrounding Crowhurst, which seemed particularly unfortunate. Looking back over your career, what have been your greatest triumphs and most challenging experiences, and how have these shaped your determination to continue making films on your own artistic terms?
Simon Rumley: The distribution of Crowhurst was a particularly sad moment for the British film industry when two generally well-regarded monoliths, StudioCanal and the BBC, did their best to bury a much smaller-budget independent film which they, rightfully, considered to be a threat to their £20 million film made by an Oscar-winning director and two Oscar-winning stars.
We generally got better reviews than The Mercy, and publications like The Guardian and The Times explicitly stated ours was the better version.
I’ve had a couple of films where producers, on which I’ve been director for hire, have re-cut my edit and shown no ability whatsoever to make a better film than I have.
Narcissists, sociopaths and bad filmmakers abound in the film industry, and working with one (or more) is something I’d discourage, but spotting them isn’t always easy.
I had a run of four features which, for different reasons, were all horrid experiences, and after my last one in 2019, I left the industry for a while.
I really wasn’t sure if I was going to come back but segue more into novel writing. As films get harder to make, harder to distribute and, often, increasingly bland, I continue to wonder for how long, without getting bigger budgets or more industry backing, I’ll continue for.
Watch this space!
It’s hard to say what my greatest triumphs have been. Getting Nic Roeg to executive produce Crowhurst was a career high. Going around to his house and chatting with him about the script, having him watch an early cut and offer his honest opinion was amazing.
Managing to travel the world and be invited to so many film festivals, from Buenos Aires to Bangkok, from Durban to Busan, is definitely another highlight, as is having shot films in a few different countries: the USA (three times), Suriname and Thailand.
I love travelling, so the idea of spending three or four months somewhere whilst making a film is fantastic.
Winning top film prizes at all the main genre festivals, including Sitges, Fantastic Fest, Fantasia and FrightFest, is another highlight.
I guess I’ve had a few…
3. Returning to arthouse horror with Crushed
Amicus Horror: After projects such as Once Upon a Time in London, Crushed feels like a magnificent return to the uncompromising, psychologically intense arthouse cinema with which I most closely associate your work. What inspired the story, and was there a conscious desire to return to this particular form of filmmaking? Or was it simply that the subject matter presented an opportunity you found impossible to resist?
Simon Rumley: Well, there was a long gap in between the two, but after Once Upon a Time in London, where the film was recut to disastrous effect, I had to get out of the industry.
Crushed is a film I actually wrote back in 2010 or 2011, but it was only after a couple of discussions with friends, Doug Abbott and Tom Waller, that it started to take shape.
I rewrote the script from where it was originally set, Suriname, and added the question of faith.
Working with friends is incredibly important. I respect them, they respect me, and we work together to make a good film rather than against each other to make a bad film.
The story itself was inspired by a couple of articles I read in the Daily Mail and The Sun about animal crush videos, which I found shocking (and still do), and felt that between investigating these and child sex trafficking, this was going to be an intense and horrifying ride.
But the reality is these are also the worst things I could think of to challenge the vicar character in the film.
The film is ultimately a question of faith and how that resonates with reality.
Spoiler note: the following answer discusses the ending of Crushed.
4. The reception of Crushed
Amicus Horror: I watched Crushed recently and thought it was a remarkable film, a wonderful addition to your body of work, and another demonstration of your ability to discover profound human emotion within genuinely horrific circumstances. Following its Edinburgh premiere, its release and the excellent four-star review from Phil Hoad in The Guardian, how do you feel about the film’s reception? Have audiences responded in ways you anticipated, or have you encountered interpretations and reactions that surprised you?
Simon Rumley: Thanks very much!
The film is a tough pitch, and some people have immediate knee-jerk reactions against the subject matter. I think they think this film is sensationalising and glorifying crush movies and child trafficking, which obviously it isn’t.
And then, of course, some people watch it and still wonder about it, as it’s antithetical to the common Hollywood concept of a revenge movie.
I’ve even had some people dislike the movie because the paedophile escaped which, in real life, more often than not, they do.
Personally, I think it’s my most challenging but best film to date, so I’m always happy when people agree with this, which a few have.
It’s most certainly a polarising film, but, to be honest, I’m happy when people watch the film and tell me how moved by it they’ve been.
So, all things considered, given how tough the subject matter is, I think the reaction has been pretty great.
5. The Call of the Wild, artistic imagination and artificial intelligence
Amicus Horror: Your involvement in The Call of the Wild is particularly intriguing, not least because of the proposed use of generative AI alongside other visual effects techniques. The subject has understandably generated discussion throughout the industry, particularly among artists whose crafts may be affected by these emerging technologies. Rather than focusing upon the controversy itself, I am interested in your artistic philosophy. How do you envisage approaching this adaptation creatively, and how might you balance the possibilities offered by new technology with the human imagination, craftsmanship and emotional sensitivity that have always been so central to your filmmaking?
Simon Rumley: Good question, and let’s see!
In reality, AI is my tool. I and the people I work with control it, it doesn’t control us.
It helps us achieve our creative goal, so, working on set and with actors aside, I’ll go through the same creative process I always go through.
I’ve written the script and have rewritten it. As we go further into the process, I’ll also shot-list it like I would any other film.
I’ll also work with costume designers, production designers, even a DP, to determine how the visuals will look and how we generate them.
The film will be all in my head by the time we start generating the visuals, and I’ll be doing my best to utilise AI to realise what I already see.
I’ll be working with an editor throughout the process and a sound team who will fully Foley the scenes, and we’ll do a proper Atmos surround-sound mix, etc., etc.
Whilst this one won’t use real actors, the goal is that the next AI film will…
A filmmaker worth celebrating
It is difficult to read Simon Rumley’s answers without being struck by the curious combination of artistic conviction and professional vulnerability that runs throughout them.
Here is a filmmaker who has enjoyed international acclaim, travelled the world with his pictures, collaborated with the great Nicolas Roeg and received some of the highest honours available in genre cinema. Yet he speaks with remarkable frankness about an industry that has, on occasion, left him questioning whether he wishes to remain part of it at all.
Perhaps that is what makes Crushed feel so significant. It represents not merely the return of a filmmaker to familiar artistic territory, but the return of an artist who, by his own admission, once seriously contemplated leaving cinema behind.
Long may that determination endure.
Our thanks to Simon Rumley for taking the time to answer our questions and for sharing his thoughts so generously.
Crushed is now available on UK digital platforms.
Interview by Lawrie Brewster for Amicus Horror.
